Gaming Wheel System

ABSTRACT

A gaming wheel system is provided. The gaming wheel system comprises a roulette gaming wheel assembly having a static bowl and a wheel head rotatable within the static bowl and a plurality of ball pockets formed in the wheel head. The plurality of ball pockets are numbered from one (1) to forty (40) inclusive.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This patent application claims priority under 35 USC 119 (e) (1) fromU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/127,031 filed Mar. 2,2015, of common inventorship herewith entitled, “Gaming Wheel,” which isincorporated herein by reference as though the same were set forth inits entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to the field of casino gaming, and morespecifically to the field of roulette games.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present day gaming industry includes all sorts of games offeringbetting opportunities. Roulette represents approximately five percent ofgaming revenues and is a prominently positioned icon in casinos today.The game of roulette was introduced approximately three hundred yearsago and has remained relatively unchanged since the seventeen hundreds.An early description of the roulette game in a French novel included thehouse pockets, stating that there were exactly two slots reserved forthe bank from whence the game derives its sole mathematical advantage.It then goes on to describe the layout including two betting spaces thatcontain the bank's two numbers, zero and double zero. The Bank or theHouse numbers clear all bets other than those placed on these twonumbers and the cleared bets go to the house. The roulette wheels in thelate seventeen hundreds had red for the single zero and black for thedouble zero. In the late eighteen hundreds, the color green was selectedfor the zeros in roulette wheels to avoid confusion. By the middlenineteenth century, roulette spread all over Europe and America,becoming one of the most famous and most popular casino games. Thesingle zero roulette wheel became the premier game in Monte Carlo andover the years was exported around the world, except in the UnitedStates where the double zero wheel had remained dominant. Associatedwith glamorous casinos, roulette often is called King of Casino Games.

A typical roulette wheel includes a number ring bearing a circular arrayof numbered segments bearing numbers one through thirty six. Inaddition, the number ring typically includes a single zero and a doublezero disposed at diametrically opposite locations on the number ring, ora single zero on its own. The numbers one through thirty six are notdisposed in numerical order, but are typically disposed in apredetermined arrangement. The numbers disposed in a circular array inthe number ring region of the wheel bear the alternating colors of redand black, with the exception of the single zero and double zero numberswhich are colored green. A ring of pockets corresponding in number tothe plurality of numbers of the circular number ring lies adjacent butradially inward of the number ring on the typical roulette wheel. Inaddition, a typical roulette wheel includes a circular inclined balltrack that is disposed above and radially outwardly of the number ring.

The prior art has put forth several designs for roulette games. Amongthese are:

US Patent 2013/0310132 to Chi-Fat Au-Yeung describes a roulette gaminglayout having a matrix of boxes which comprise four columns of twelverows of boxes. The boxes in three adjacent columns are numbered one tothirty six consecutively across the rows, while the boxes in the fourthcolumn are numbered to repeat the numbers in boxes in the column on theopposite side of the matrix.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,517,384 to Anthony M. Carbonaro describes a roulettegame based upon a wheel having multiple series of consecutive numbers.Each number is distinguished by a color, with a different quantity ofcolors repeating to provide a unique color and number combination foreach position on the wheel. The selected colors represent the colors ofa national flag such as red, white, and blue for the United States orred, white and green for Mexico. House profit is provided by payment oflower than actual odds, by the retention of a percentage of winningwagers or by designating one or more wheel positions as winningpositions for the house. This system incorporates a progressive wageringsystem wherein retention of the house profit is waived for players whochoose to place progressive wagers on consecutive plays of the wheel.

US Patent 2004/0212150 to Marcel Huard, Real Berube, Jean-PierreBedrossian and Gagnono describes an enhanced casino game in which theprinciples of the standard Roulette game are applied to a standard deckof playing cards. The use of standard gaming tools for this improvedgame of roulette provides an enhanced experience for the player whilebringing flexibility in the choice of the casino house income ratio forthe casino management team.

None of these prior art references describe the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvedvariation on the double zero wheel layout of a roulette game.

The present invention is a gaming wheel system. The gaming wheel systemcomprises a roulette gaming wheel assembly having a static bowl and awheel head rotatable within the static bowl and a plurality of ballpockets formed in the wheel head. The plurality of ball pockets arenumbered from one (1) to forty (40) inclusive.

In addition, the present invention includes a method for constructing agaming wheel system. The method comprises providing a roulette gamingwheel assembly having a static bowl and a wheel head rotatable withinthe static bowl, forming a plurality of ball pockets in the wheel head,and numbering the plurality of ball pockets from one (1) to forty (40)inclusive.

The present invention further includes a gaming wheel system comprisinga roulette gaming wheel assembly having a static bowl and a wheel headrotatable within the static bowl and a plurality of ball pockets formedin the wheel head with the plurality of ball pockets divided into a fourcolor system. A roulette gaming table is also provided having aplurality of play spaces positioned on the roulette gaming table withthe plurality of play spaces divided into the same four color system ofthe ball pockets. The plurality of ball pockets are numbered from one(1) to forty (40) inclusive and the plurality of play spaces on thegaming table are numbered from one (1) to forty (40) inclusive,corresponding to the plurality of numbered ball pockets on the wheelhead.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view illustrating a roulette gaming wheel assemblyof a gaming wheel system constructed in accordance with the presentinvention showing the numbers of the roulette gaming wheel assembly.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a roulette gaming table of agaming wheel system constructed in accordance with the present inventionshowing the improved numbering system.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the roulette gaming wheelassembly and the roulette gaming table of the gaming wheel systemconstructed in accordance with the present invention containing theimproved numbering system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, hereinafter referred to as the Gaming WheelSystem, indicated generally at 10, is an improved roulette numberingsystem and layout. The Gaming Wheel System 10 of the present inventionadds more player choice of bets which increases a player's winningchances and playing excitement.

The Gaming Wheel System 10 of the present invention includes a roulettegaming wheel assembly 12. The gaming wheel assembly 12 preferablyconsists of two basic parts which are a static bowl 14 and a wheel head16 which rotates completely within the static bowl 14. The bowl 14 ispreferably produced of solid wood with plastic elements or plasticcoverings although constructing the bowl 14 from other materials iswithin the scope of the present invention. The static bowl 14 includesthe ball track, the lower ball track apron with or without special balldeflectors, and a spindle 18 for supporting the rotating wheel head 16.The roulette wheel head 16 is settled into the bowl 14 in such a waythat it fits with the upper and lower ball tracks. The outer edge of thewheel head 16 contains the colored numbers 19 and ball pockets 20 for aroulette ball to land on. The central part of the wheel head 16,preferably having a conical shape, is called the cone and it is used todirect the ball into the ball pockets 20. A turret is a decorativecomponent which hides the height adjuster can also be provided.

The Gaming Wheel System 10 of the present invention further includes aroulette gaming table 22 allowing a roulette player a variety of bettingoptions. Placing inside bets is either selecting the exact number of theball pocket 20 the ball will land in, or a small range of pockets basedon their proximity on the layout. Players wishing to bet on the‘outside’ will select bets on larger positional groupings of ballpockets 20, the pocket color, or whether the winning number is odd oreven. The payout odds for each type of bet are based on its probability.

The Gaming Wheel System 10 of the present invention can impose minimumand maximum bets, and these rules usually apply separately for all of aplayer's inside and outside bets for each spin. For inside bets,separate roulette table chips of various colors can be used todistinguish players at the table. Players can continue to place bets asthe ball spins around the wheel until the dealer announces no more bets.

The gaming wheel assembly 12 of the Gaming Wheel System 10 of thepresent invention eliminates zero and double zero (as provided in aconventional roulette wheel) and adds four numbers to the originalthirty six numbers in a conventional roulette wheel. Added to the wheelhead are four additional spaces of thirty-seven (37), thirty-eight (38),thirty-nine (39), and forty (40). The numbering addition creates foursets of ten numbers from approximately one (1) to ten (10), eleven (11)to twenty (20), twenty-one (21) to thirty (30), and thirty-one (31) toforty (40) allowing bets on these groups of numbers.

Instead of the two color system red and black found in conventionalroulette games, the wheel head 16 of the gaming wheel assembly 12 of theGaming Wheel System 10 of the present invention contains a four colorsystem of red, yellow, black and green allowing bets on a particularcolor or colors. The numbers from one (1) to forty (40) preferablyalternate between small and big, even and odd, and preferably red,yellow, black, and green. It should be noted that while the Gaming WheelSystem 10 has been described as having a four color system withparticular colors, it is within the scope of the present invention forthe Gaming Wheel System 10 to have more than a four color system and/ordifferent colors.

Additionally, similar to the gaming wheel assembly 12, the roulettetable 22 of the Gaming Wheel System 10 of the present invention alsoeliminates zero and double zero and adds four additional numberedspaces: thirty seven (37), thirty eight (38), thirty nine (39), andforty (40). Each of the numbered betting spaces 24 on the gaming table22 is colored one of the four colors corresponding to the color of thenumbered ball pocket 20 on the gaming wheel head 16.

As illustrated, the Gaming Wheel System 10 of the present invention addsthe color gray or silver to the four color system of yellow, black,green, and red of the numbered betting spaces 24. In this embodiment,yellow includes 1, 5, 9, 12, 16, 23, 27, 34, and 38; black includesnumbers 2, 6, 13, 17, 24, 28, 31, 35, and 39; green includes numbers 3,7, 14, 18, 21, 25, 29, 32, and 36; red includes numbers 4, 8, 11, 15,19, 22, 26, 33, and 37; and gray or silver includes numbers 10, 20, 30,and 40.

The Gaming Wheel System 10 poses no jeopardy for a casino operatortowards house winnings. The Gaming Wheel System 10 is a variation of thedouble zero wheel layout. Most importantly, the present inventioneliminates zero and double zero places that provide a board clearing,house advantage. Both the number and color additions provide a playerwith more betting options and opportunities for winning.

Originally configured for use in professional casinos, the Gaming WheelSystem 10 of the present invention is an adjunct game to traditionalroulette. The Gaming Wheel System 10 is an innovative game that also iseffectively functional and enjoyable in venues such as carnivals,charity gaming and home entertainment. The Gaming Wheel System 10provides players with more betting options, more excitement and betterchances of winning. The gaming industry and the professionals areensured that the profit margins of the present invention continue todeliver to house expectations.

Although this invention has been described with respect to specificembodiments, it is not intended to be limited thereto and variousmodifications which will become apparent to the person of ordinary skillin the art are intended to fall within the spirit and scope of theinvention as described herein taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings and the appended claim.

1. A gaming'wheel system comprising: a roulette gaming wheel assemblyhaving a static bowl and a wheel head rotatable within the static bowl;and a plurality of ball pockets formed in the wheel head; wherein theplurality of ball pockets are numbered from one (1) to forty (40)inclusive.
 2. The gaming wheel system of claim 1 wherein the wheel headis free from ball pockets numbered zero (0) and double zero (00).
 3. Thegaming wheel system of claim 1 wherein the ball pockets are divided intoa four color system.
 4. The gaming wheel system of claim 1 wherein thecolors are yellow, red, green, and black.
 5. The gaming wheel system ofclaim 1 and further comprising: a roulette gaming table; and a pluralityof play spaces positioned on the roulette gaming table; wherein theplurality of play spaces are numbered from one (1) to forty (40)inclusive, corresponding to the plurality of numbered ball pockets onthe wheel head.
 6. The gaming wheel system of claim wherein the roulettegaming table is free from play spaces numbered zero (0) and double zero(00).
 7. The gaming wheel system of claim 5 wherein the plurality ofplay spaces on the gaming table is colored one of the four colorscorresponding to the color of the numbered ball pocket on the wheelhead.
 8. The gaming wheel system of claim 5 wherein the plurality ofplay spaces on the gaming table is divided into four (4) bettingopportunities.
 9. The gaming wheel system of claim 8 wherein the bettingopportunities includes one (1) to ten (10), eleven (11) to twenty (20),twenty-one (21) to thirty (30), and thirty-one (31) to forty (40). 10.The gaming wheel system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of ball pocketsare numbered from one (1) to forty (40) alternate between small and big,even and odd, and red, yellow, black, and green.
 11. The gaming wheelsystem of claim 1 wherein the bowl is constructed from a materialselected from wood and plastic.
 12. The gaming wheel system of claim 1wherein the static bowl includes a ball track, a lower ball track apron,and a spindle for supporting the rotating wheel head.
 13. A method forconstructing a gaming wheel system, the method comprising: providing aroulette gaming wheel assembly having a static bowl and a wheel headrotatable within the static bowl; forming a plurality of ball pockets inthe wheel head; and numbering the plurality of ball pockets from one (1)to forty (40) inclusive.
 14. A gaming wheel system comprising: aroulette gaming wheel assembly having a static bowl and a wheel headrotatable within the static bowl; and a plurality of ball pockets formedin the wheel head, the plurality of ball pockets divided into a fourcolor system; a roulette gaming table; and a plurality of play spacespositioned on the roulette gaming table, the plurality of play spacesdivided into the same four color system of the ball pockets; wherein theplurality of ball pockets are numbered from one (1) to forty (40)inclusive; and wherein the plurality of play spaces on the gaming tableare numbered from one (1) to forty (40) inclusive, corresponding to theplurality of numbered ball pockets on the wheel head.
 15. A gaming wheelsystem of claim 14 wherein the wheel head is free from ball pocketsnumbered zero (0) and double zero (00).
 16. A gaming wheel system ofclaim 14 wherein the roulette gaming table is free from play spacesnumbered zero (0) and double zero (00).
 17. The gaming wheel system ofclaim 14 wherein the colors are yellow, red, green, and black.
 16. Thegaming wheel system of claim 14 wherein the plurality of play spaces isdivided into four (4) betting opportunities.
 17. The gaming wheel systemof claim 16 wherein the betting opportunities includes one (1) to ten(10), eleven (11) to twenty (20), twenty-one (21) to thirty (30), andthirty-one (31) to forty (40).
 18. The gaming wheel system of claim 16wherein the plurality of ball pockets are numbered from one (1) to forty(40) alternate between small and big, even and odd, and red, yellow,black, and green.
 19. The gaming wheel system of claim 16 wherein thebowl is constructed from a material selected from wood and plastic. 20.The gaming wheel system of claim 16 wherein the static bowl includes aball track, a lower ball track apron, and a spindle for supporting therotating wheel head.